Uber adds extra fee for making your driver wait

Uber makes it insanely easy to find a ride in just a few minutes, but sometimes that means the car you requested shows up before you’re ready to leave. Now the company is promising to punish customers who keep their drivers waiting for more that two minutes with an extra fee.

The new feature is rolling out to New York, New Jersey, Dallas and Phoenix as part of an early test. If it goes well, and encourages riders to show up on time, it’s likely to expand to other regions where the company operates.

Uber is also cutting the grace period you have to cancel a trip for free from five minutes to two minutes. It claims that should be enough time for most people, presumably based on earlier user data.

Uber adds that the extra money will go to the driver who’s time you’re wasting. That’s nice, but we’re still waiting for the company to offer a discount when the car we requested shows up later than promised.